Ryuki bgm woes

[akinoame]

Expansion on this, for the record.

So if there is anybody who has far better computer skills than me and knows how to isolate the background music from a scene, please let me know. There are these two beautiful tracks from Ryuki that don't appear on the soundtracks (and believe me--I've checked "Last Message" and I own the movie soundtrack, and I'm obsessive enough to look this long).

This leads me into a discussion on Ryuki's music. It's...well, "not very good" is a bit harsh, to be honest. There are some fantastic pieces--among my favorites on the movie soundtrack are Kanzaki rocking the fuck out on the pipe organ (named, unbelievably, "Kanzaki Shiro"), an unused piece called "Ouja vs. Femme" (that I think was used on Ryuki vs. Agito?), and of course, "Climax 10" (that depressing theme that usually shows up when somebody dies, toward the end of the series).

But a lot of the music really sounds the same. And I mean that literally--there are unnecessary remixes of the same piece, but with a very minor change in sound. I know OOO went a little crazy with its remixes of the image songs, but at least they sounded different. Ryuki has "Ryuki, Henshin!" D, C, and B--in that order, and I don't know if there's an A. The tracks are all over the place, which adds to the sense that you're really listening to the same thing. And oh god, the overuse of synth. Did they have NO musical instruments? It's all "oooh, we're creepy and mysterious!~" when honestly, we need some touching songs. Like "Siblings Waiting To Meet," which is played exactly once, when Yui remembers her childhood with her brother, and it's a pleasant change from the usual. But really, when Ren's theme, the one that we're supposed to associate with him and Eri, is a synth-laden "oooh, mysterious!~" song...there's a reason I like the OOO soundtrack. They actually had personality-based music, where styles matched the character's personalities and situations. It wasn't all the same type.

The pieces I like are the music played in the background for Eri in episode 37 (namely when she and Ren are talking about what happened to her, and then later when she decides she's going to find out what he's hiding from her), and the piano-and-strings piece from the finale that segues into a piano remix of "Climax 10," as Yui convinces her brother to stop being a douchebag and reset time so that they can give everyone a shot at happiness instead. The first is synth-heavy, yes. But it also has EMOTION behind it--something lacking in much of the Ryuki soundtrack. It's gorgeous because it's not trying to be "mysterious!~" It's Eri trying to get answers. It's Ren being evasive. It's pain, on both their parts--Ren doesn't want to burden her with the knowledge of what he's been doing, and Eri really needs to know what he's been doing and what exactly happened to her. And the "Climax 10" remix is so poignant and beautiful, sorrowful but also hopeful, because Yui and Kanzaki are sacrificing themselves for the sake of happiness--theirs as well as everyone else's.

And yeah. These two pieces were left off. In favor of about three different versions of Shinji's henshin background music, among other same-y sounding remixes of the same few tracks. On a single CD. And then if you decide not to get the movie soundtrack because "Last Message" includes it, guess what--you're missing out on several pieces of music. Such as "Ouja vs. Femme." And being a fan of the OOO soundtrack and the Kiva Tetra-Fang collection, it's pitiful seeing the bare handful of image songs in a show with 13 Riders. Oh, and Shinji doesn't get his own image song, and I don't think even Takamasa Suga understood why.

Some Rider series' soundtracks are more miss than hit, but Ryuki is a damn shame, only because of the same-ness to everything and their bizarre decision making in picking which pieces go on the soundtrack and which are left off. If they'd let these really good tracks on, maybe let Shinji SING and cut some of the excess mixes, it'd be...well, it wouldn't be OOO level, but it'd at least be memorable. What we get ends up pretty damn forgettable, and given how amazing this show is? That's beyond a shame--it's a disgrace.